Japan’s Abe Keeps Up Heat on China

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (R), accompanied by Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera (L), delivers a speech as he reviews troops of Japanese Self Defense Force during a military parade at the Ground Self Defense Force's Asaka training ground in Tokyo.

Addressing the nation’s military, including an elite unit tasked with defending its remote islands, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sunday vowed to keep in check territorial ambitions of other countries in a veiled warning to China for its maritime advances.

“We will show our resolve as a nation, that changes in the status quo by force cannot be tolerated,” Mr. Abe told an annual review of the Self Defense Forces. “The security environment surrounding Japan has become more challenging. That is the reality,” he told the 4,000 or so SDF members gathered at a military base just north of Tokyo.

While Mr. Abe did not mention China by name, the comment comes on the heels of similar warnings by the prime minister against Beijing’s territorial claims in waters around Asia, including one involving Japanese-controlled islands in the East China Sea.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Friday, Mr. Abe urged China to act responsibly and not to resort to force, adding that other nations in the region shared this view. "Many nations expect Japan to strongly express that view. And they hope that as a result, China will take responsible action in the international community." In the South China Sea, China is involved in disputes with many Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam and the Philippines.

Mr. Abe told the troops on Sunday surveillance and patrols were needed to prevent “changes in the status quo,” in an apparent reference to the face-off between Japanese and Chinese vessels over the contested islands in the East China Sea. While Japan has the Senkakus, as it calls the islands, under control, China’s maritime agency ships are constantly in the nearby waters and often entering Japanese territorial waters insisting that the Diaoyu—its name for the islets—are its own.

While the Japanese Coast Guard has been dealing with the incursions, some lawmakers have called for having an SDF presence on the islands. And Japanese defense officials are looking into the possibility of building new military facilities on nearby islands in Okinawa prefecture.

In Sunday’s parade, the SDF’s Western Army Infantry Regiment took part for the first time, a move seen as symbolizing Tokyo’s efforts to beef up its defenses in southwestern Japan facing the East China Sea. The members of the amphibious unit appeared on military vehicles towing rubber boats, reflecting their mission of protecting—and if needed, taking back—Japan’s remote islands.

Also on display was an amphibious assault vehicle used by the U.S. Marines. The SDF’s elite force has been training with the Marines, leading to speculation that Japan is looking to create its own, in addition to the three current SDF units, the army, navy and the air force.

In addition to the confrontation over the East China Sea islands, Tokyo is increasingly becoming wary of China’s activities in the high seas. Chinese state media said last week that its navy started exercises in the western Pacific, attended by three of its fleets.

Such moves have prompted calls in Tokyo for stepped-up surveillance. In July, Mr. Abe visited some remote islands in Okinawa, including one that serves as the center for monitoring activities in the East China Sea. The visit was criticized by Beijing as threatening the region’s stability.